Peaceful Slumber
by Trebleclef2
Summary: Alexis returns home after the events of 'Always' to find that something has changed. SPOILERS FOR ALWAYS, obviously.


**Peaceful Slumber  
****  
Summary: Alexis returns home after the events of 'Always' to find that something has changed.  
Author's Note: Spoilers for Always. Rating K.  
**  
Alexis sighed. It had been a long weekend and she was just dying to stay at home and relax with her dad around the house for a few days after the post-graduation chaos. Sure, she'd had the time of her life partying but at the same time she found herself thinking about her dad at home by himself with Gran gone, and that inevitably led to her worrying. She'd been worrying about him a lot lately, as he'd been really down since he ended his partnership with Detective Beckett. The two had become so close; more than just partners really, a fact that everyone but Beckett seemed to see. Her dad was heartbroken when their working together was up, whether he had caused it to come about or not, and so, Alexis knew that she needed to get home and make sure that he was okay - after all, she hadn't seen him all weekend.

She took out her key when she finally reached the door to their apartment and unlocked the door to the familiar sight of her home. She would say a quick hello to her dad and then it was straight into her pyjamas and into bed. They'd talk properly tomorrow, she decided. It was late; after eleven. She was so tired that she didn't immediately notice the soft breathing coming from the couch. She hadn't thought her dad would be so relaxed - the deadline what he'd decided was the last Nikki Heat book was approaching and she'd expected that he'd be in his office working. She knew he hated to have Gina breathing down his neck come the day his manuscript was due. _Well most of the time anyways, _Alexis thought ruefully.

Creeping across the room not wanting to disturb his seemingly peaceful slumber, her breath caught in shock as she turned the corner and saw that Richard Castle was not alone asleep on the couch. To her surprise, none other than Kate Beckett was cuddled up against his side, a faint smile on her face. He looked similarly peaceful and content, his arm draped lazily over the detective's shoulders, head sagging to rest against hers. The other hand held the TV remote in that annoyingly tight grip he always held it in when he fell asleep watching the television and Alexis wanted to change the channel. Looking at the television now, she saw that their DVD of 'Hot Fuzz' was almost finished, the volume muted. Her dad always had liked that film. Kate had probably got a good laugh out of it too.

Looking at the pair of them sitting so close on the couch, asleep in each other's embrace, Alexis was certain that _something '_had changed while she'd been gone. She wasn't quite sure what, but she knew that _something_ had. She wasn't quite sure what she felt about it yet either. Her dad looked so content now, and she wanted to be happy for him, but she also couldn't help remembering how Beckett had treated him over the months since she'd been shot - how she hadn't told him that she'd remembered everything from that day, including his confession. He'd opened his heart to her; he cared about her in a way that Alexis had never seen him care about anyone else before, and she'd broken his heart, even if she didn't know it. 'Sinning by silence,' he'd called it.

However, Alexis pushed those feelings aside for the moment. What happened in the future was between her dad and Detective Beckett, and in any case she was too tired and confused to think about her feelings now. Time for the comfort of her bed. Although it rarely showed, her dad was a grown man and could take care of himself. If a relationship with Detective Beckett would make her dad happy, then who was she to stand in his way? She liked and respected Detective Beckett in spite of everything, far more than the string of dim-witted blondes he'd dated after she'd broken his heart in any case. It would all work out for the best in the end - she was sure of that. Things always did.

With a last glance at the two sleepers, she tenderly draped a blanket around them, being careful not to wake them. Turning off the television and dimming the lights until the room was almost dark, Alexis dropped a light kiss on her father's cheek before turning towards the stairs.

"I hope you're happy, Dad," she whispered into the darkness. "Whatever happens."


End file.
